Pepperdine Waves vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 3/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pepperdine Waves vs BYU Cougars

Date: Monday, March 8, 2021

Location: Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Pepperdine (+9.5)

Orleans Arena is the venue where and the BYU Cougars (19-5) will play the Pepperdine Waves (12-11) on Monday. Pepperdine opens this contest as 9.5-point dogs. The O/U is set at 150.

Pepperdine will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 12-11 so far this year. They have an average of 76.2 points per outing (64th in the country) while connecting on 45.9% from the floor. The Waves are hitting 33.0% on 3-point shots (163 of 494) and 78.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Pepperdine is pulling down 34.8 boards per game and is sitting with 370 dimes so far this year, which is 45th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 13.3 times per game and as a team are committing 19.0 fouls per game. Defensively, the Waves are forcing 13.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.4 fouls. They concede 26.9% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 276th in D-1 in points per game allowed (74.3). The Waves defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.1% (613 of 1,391) and they surrender 35.7 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 249th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 321 surrendered so far this season.

The Pepperdine Waves stepped onto the hardwood against the Santa Clara Broncos and notched a win by a score of 78-70 in their last contest. Pepperdine wrapped up the game having earned a 44.1% field goal percentage (26 of 59) and buried 9 of their 27 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Waves converted 17 of 21 shots for a percentage of 81.0%. In reference to hauling in boards, they collected 39 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 14 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In regard to defense, Pepperdine allowed the other team to shoot 41.5% from the field on 27 out of 65 shooting. Santa Clara recorded 5 assists and had 2 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Santa Clara pulled down 35 rebounds (9 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 1 block. Santa Clara shot 59.1% from the charity stripe by burying 13 of their 22 attempts. They converted 3 of their 20 shots from long range.

Colbey Ross is a player who was a contributor in the game. He walked away with 25 points on 6 out of 17 shooting. He played for 38 minutes played and also pulled down 3 rebounds. Ross went 35.3% from the floor and also earned 12 assists. Another guy that was a factor in the game for the Waves was Kessler Edwards. He totaled 11 rebounds in 36 min on the basketball court. He finished the game at 60.0% from the floor for this contest by hitting 9-of-15 (21 points). When the final whistle was blown, Edwards wasn't able to get an assist.

BYU has a mark of 19-5 this year. The Cougars commit 17.6 personal fouls every game while shooting 72.3% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 16.9 times per contest (15th in D-1) and they cough up possession 13.2 times per contest. BYU has totaled 1,887 points so far this year (78.6 per game) and they snag 39.4 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Cougars are shooting 48.6% from the floor, which is 30th in college basketball. The Cougars defensively are ranked 94th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 67.3. They are forcing 11.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.5% from the floor (39th in college hoops). The BYU defense concedes 32.7% on shots from distance (163 of 498) and their opposition makes 68.6% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 11.5 assists and 32.3 boards every game, which ranks 75th and 68th in those categories.

When they last played, the BYU Cougars took home the win by a final score of 65-51 when they played the St. Mary's Gaels. The Cougars snagged 34 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 in this matchup. They turned the ball over 10 times, while getting 3 steals for this game. The Gaels committed 17 personal fouls in the game which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 16 tries. They were able to bury 10 of the free throws for a clip of 62.5%. In relation to shots from downtown, BYU made 9 out of 19 attempts (47.4%). Overall, the Cougars finished shooting 23 for 54 from the floor which had them sitting at 42.6%. The Cougars allowed the Gaels to bury 19 of their 57 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 33.3% for this contest. They shot 25.0% from three-point range by shooting 5 out of 20 and ended up going 8 of 12 from the charity stripe (66.7%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, BYU permitted St. Mary's to grab 31 in total (6 offensive).

Matt Haarms pitched in for the Cougars in this game. He made 4 of 10 for the game for a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and earned 10 rebounds. Haarms tallied 11 points in his 24 minutes of playing time and earned 1 assist in this contest. Someone else that was pivotal for BYU was Brandon Averette. He finished this one with 4 assists in his 23 mins on the court, and he shot 4 out of 9 from the floor. Averette wrapped this one up going 44.4% from the floor as well as contributing 11 points and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take BYU (-9.5)

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